BOARD MEETING DATE: December 3, 2010
AGENDA NO. 33
REPORT:
California Air Resources Board Monthly Meeting
SYNOPSIS:
The California Air Resources Board met on November 18, 2010. The following is a summary of this meeting.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
Receive and File.
Ronald O. Loveridge, Member
SCAQMD Governing Board
The Air Resources Board’s (ARB or Board) November meeting was held in Sacramento. Key items presented are summarized below.
- PM10 Implementation/Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request for Sacramento County (Consent)
The Board approved the PM10 Implementation/Maintenance Plan and Redesignation Request for Sacramento County for submittal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Sacramento County met the federal PM10 air quality standards in 2000; this action will allow U.S. EPA to redesignate the area to attainment for PM10.
- Imperial County 2009 1997 8-Hour Ozone Modified Air Quality Management Plan and 2009 Reasonably Available Control Technology State Implementation Plan (Consent)
The Board approved the Imperial County 2009 1997 8-Hour Ozone Modified Air Quality Management Plan and 2009 Reasonably Available Control Technology State Implementation Plan for submittal to the U.S. EPA. Imperial County met the 1997 8-hour federal ozone standard at the end of 2008.
- Amendment of the ATCM For In-Use Diesel-Fueled Transport Refrigeration Unit (TRU) and TRU Generator Sets and Facilities Where TRUs Operate
The Board adopted amendments to the Air Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) regulating emissions of diesel particulate matter from transport refrigeration units (TRU) and TRU generator sets. The amendments provide TRU owners with greater flexibility in meeting December 31, 2010 compliance deadlines. The approved amendments have a minimal impact on emissions. ARB staff also committed to provide an administrative extension of up to three months past the December 31, 2010 deadline to TRU owners to ensure that there is sufficient time to complete retrofit installations.
The staff also outlined plans to address other amendments to the TRU ATCM in 2011.
- Proposed Amendments to the California Consumer Products Regulations and Informational Update on Green Chemistry Initiative
The Board adopted amendments to California’s consumer products regulations that will reduce VOC limits in eleven classes of consumer products. The new standards affect a range of products from insect sprays to oven cleaners, relying on new research to identify lower solvent content formulations and expanding the use of these formulations into related product classes. In a few classes, the use of toxic constituents or constituents with high global warming potentials was prohibited. The Board also directed staff to continue work on standards for special purpose lubricants to resolve new findings and solicit public comments with a 15-day comment period notification. ARB has now met 80 percent of the consumer products emission reduction goal set in the 2007 State Implementation Plan.
The Board also heard a progress report on the Green Chemistry Initiative presented by Mr. Maziar Movassghi, Acting Director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control. The Initiative is designed to reduce the use of toxic substances in a variety of products, and is being structured to complement ARB’s consumer products regulations by encouraging chemical substitutions that meet the goals of both agencies.
- Update on Implementation of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard
ARB received an update from staff and approved a resolution guiding staff on continued development and implementation of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Major progress reported included development of an electronic reporting tool that was released for official use in November 2010, and the continued study and improvement of fuel pathway intensities for the spectrum of fuels being evaluated. An expert panel formed in February 2010, working in subgroups in nine different areas, has developed a series of recommendations for staff use including several relevant to a new Purdue University study on corn ethanol land use conversion. Staff is currently evaluating those recommendations and other information to address land use changes and other indirect effects of transportation fuels. Another area of significant study has been the intensity of high carbon intensity crude oil, which may be used in California and would offset gains from low carbon fuel use. The staff outlined its approach to addressing high carbon intensity crude oil in 2011, the first full year of LCFS implementation.
The resolution approved by the Board confirms priorities for further staff work and directs staff to return to the Board in the spring of 2011, or as expeditiously as practical afterwards, with appropriate regulatory amendments to the program.
- Updates to Emissions Inventories for Trucks, Buses, and Off-Road Equipment Prior to Considering Amendments to the Truck and Bus and the Off-Road Regulations
ARB staff presented updates to the emissions inventories for trucks, buses, and off-road equipment that account for the impacts of the recession on the emission inventories, and incorporate new information about truck and equipment populations and usage. The updated inventories provide information the Board will need as it considers proposed revisions to its fleet rule for in-use trucks and buses, and for off-road equipment, at its December 2010 hearing. This item was an informational report that required no action by the Board.
The impacts of the current recession reduce truck and bus emission estimates by about 25 percent, and the other inventory improvements reduce emissions by approximately 10 percent. The economic recovery scenario ARB staff used for 2014 estimates is consistent with transportation employment forecasts prepared by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of the Pacific (UOP).
ARB staff revised off-road inventory equipment inventory estimates using new California reporting data and other improvements. The updated estimates are consistent with data on fuel sales. The revised growth forecast used for this category reflects UCLA and UOP construction employment projections. The resulting off-road equipment emission estimates are approximately 80 percent lower than earlier estimates, with half of that change attributed to the recession and half to the other new data.
Attachment (DOC, 64k)
CARB November 18, 2010 Meeting Agenda